The dumb/worthless computer part thread.

[Indybird]

I'll get it started with this new product I saw today.

CDHome 5.25" Bay Device Holder for 7 x CD/CDR/DVD Disks
Right on over here. (http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=24637)

Yeah thats right its 5.25" Bay Disk holder. It holds a whopping 7 disks!

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/images/products/CDHome-BK_01.jpg
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/images/products/CDHome-BK_02.jpg
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/images/products/CDHome-BK_03.jpg

I wouldn't buy one of those for a dollar even.

So you guys seen any dumb or worthless computer parts or accessories?

-Indybird

[nevermind1534]

Wow, you can pick up a 20x DVD burner for only $22.

[xmastree]

I wouldn't buy one of those for a dollar even.
Actually, that's not a bad idea. All (well, seven of) your frequently used discs in one convenient place.

Rather pricey, but I like the idea. I'd pay a fiver for one, if I had a spare bay.

[SXRguyinMA]

:stupid:

along the dumb lines I'd add that 5.25" drive bay toaster I saw in a thread on here :D

[xmastree]

Dumb things, all those stupid things which plug into USB ports and do nothing. Lava lamps (which don't actualy contain any blobby lava, they just light up), humping dogs, coffee cup warmers (with external PSU's, wtf?)

[Luke122]

The humping dog thing is HILARIOUS! If it was a flash drive too, and you could stop the humping (it's noisy) then it would be a killer product. Haha.. or it only humps when you are uploading to it.. that would be awesome. :D

[nevermind1534]

Here it is
http://www.crazypc.com/images/misc/gags/pc60toaster4closefull.jpg (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16396)

[FuzzyPlushroom]

http://www.thg.ru/mainboard/20020509/images/fic3.jpg

http://www.atmarkit.co.jp/fpc/motoazabu/034_2001-10-05/cnr_slot.jpg

http://www.thg.ru/mainboard/20010430/images/asus_cuv266_3com.jpg

AMR, CNR, ACR. I win.

[nevermind1534]

I have some old computers with modems in those slots. What's with the picture of the Asus motherboard on near the bottom of the page?

[TheGreatSatan]

Useless. How about the cassette deck drive bay?

[Drum Thumper]

Useless. How about the cassette deck drive bay?

Or the USB turntable?

[Luke122]

The USB turntable is actually useful.. I know people who use it to rip their vinyl collection to lossless digital.

[nevermind1534]

I just connect an old turntable to my soundcard to do that.

[phen0m]

I think a motherboard cooler is pretty much worthless.

[FuzzyPlushroom]

I have some old computers with modems in those slots. What's with the picture of the Asus motherboard on near the bottom of the page?

That's a backward PCI slot, yes, but it's backward compatible with the AMR slot. It's called ACR (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Communications_Riser) and was fortunately unsuccessful.

EDIT: TGS, I'm planning on modding a Kenwood cassette deck into one of my old cases at some point... the same idea, except free (and it won't fit in a 5.25" bay).

[985323]

the 5.25 toaster is useful...i mean id use it for a latenight snack

[Xpirate]

That CD holder is too expensive. However, I bought a CD drawer from Newegg for about $5 and you can put a lot of CDs in it as long as they are in paper envelopes instead of cases. That drawer is useful because you can keep all the restore and back up disks right there with the computer instead of put in a drawer where it will get piled up with junk.

My computer room stays messy because my wife uses it as a catch all room.

[mtekk]

How about that HIS iClear pci-e 1x card ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814999012 )? It is completely useless if you are using digital video connectors (DVI, HDMI, or Display Port).

[nevermind1534]

lol. I wouldn't buy it. That's a complete rip-off.

[SXRguyinMA]

judging by the reviews its completely useless anyways lol

[nevermind1534]

I don't even see a chip on it.

[AMD Killa]

Yea, you just pay for a covered PCB and a few capacitors.

For the 5.25 toaster, you could have a heatpipe going from a 125W quad core and GPU setup. The first CPU cooling system with a third function.

1st Function: Cools CPU
2nd Function: Looks Good
(Most water cooling setups here are at least these first two)
3rd Function: Makes Toast

[ShockTheBox]

LOL my top worthless part is the turbo button on older pentium AT style computers :D its so silly, it does nothing at all. except maybe give you an extra .5 MHz

[xmastree]

LOL my top worthless part is the turbo button on older pentium AT style computers :D its so silly, it does nothing at all. except maybe give you an extra .5 MHz

It wasn't to speed up, but to slow the thing down so that older programs didn't run too fast.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_button

On personal computers, the Turbo button changes the effective speed of the system. It usually accomplishes this by either adjusting the CPU clock speed directly, or by turning off the processor's cache, forcing it to wait on slow main memory every time. The button was generally present on older systems, and was designed to allow the user to play older games that depended on processor speed for their timing.

[mtekk]

From my understanding it is supposed to do some line conditioning for the pcie power buss. The thing is that not only should the motherboard be doing this, each pcie card should do this as well. The reviewers of it on Newegg really were not that knowledgeable, though the product is basically snake oil (very expensive snake oil at that).

[Vital]

The little black/yellow rubber button companies still put in the center of keyboards to control the cursor, even though they all have trackapds now.

[nevermind1534]

Actually, it was only the trackpads for a while, but then they started putting bot on. sometimes, I prefer to use that rubber pointer thing.

[overmark]

Finger laser mouse! Selling on eBay. You have to have your hand on the desk to use it.

From the listing-

- Plug-and-Play, no installation needed.
- Can be used on any surfaces. No mouse pad is required.
- Ergonomical design - reduce fatigue effectively.
- Adjustable velcro strip to fit your finger size.
- Real hardware resolution 1200dpi – the fastest in the world, best buy for professional designers, and game fans.
- USB interface, also works for PS/2 (adapter not included).
- Standard 3 buttons –left key, right key and scroll button.
- Digital encoder technology, operate precisely, prevent faulty movement effectively.
- Textile coating cable (not rubber coating) - enhance free and easy movement.
- Mini size and super light-weight, great for using it at home, at office. Especially great for mobile travellers.

[markkleb]

this was a fun thread to read. What is dumb/stupid to one was cool to others.
(a marketeers nightmare thread)

For me the dumbest purchase has been my AMD 9950 (my X2 6400 was perfectly fine for me)

Oh wait there was one even worse.. I bought 3 of these for Tri SLI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121268
(notice the tri sli connections on the PCB)..to find out they wouldnt work in Tri sli. Asus blamed Nvidia and Nvidia blamed Asus but I was still stuck with 3 cards that barely were any better than my 9600GTs.

[blueonblack]

For me the dumbest purchase has been my AMD 9950 (my X2 6400 was perfectly fine for me)

And I thank you for that. :) It seems that I am finally getting old enough to learn from the mistakes of others. I was beginning to wonder when that would happen.
________
Best penny stocks (http://pennystockpicks.net/)

[moon111]

Useless. How about the cassette deck drive bay?

I have about six music cd's somewhere... I didn't buy them. And I have hundreds of cassette tapes, including a cassette deck in my vehicle. I think a cassette deck drive in a computer would be awesome. I have allot of stuff that isn't available online.

[p0Pe]

For me the dumbest purchase has been my AMD 9950 (my X2 6400 was perfectly fine for me)

dont get a quad if you dont know how to use it:P

[ShockTheBox]

how about laptop smart cards.. they are supposed to be secure but they are way to easy to bypass

[ShockTheBox]

ohh i gots a new one .. DVD decoder cards .. they were used for old systems to allow them to play dvds better without stuttering .but were introduced way to late and were phased out in like 6 months after relase

[SXRguyinMA]

how about the 3.5" floppy drive/disk? seems pretty well useless now, with all the super capacity flash cards for so cheap. hell a micro sd card is smaller than my thumbnail, yet the one that came in my phone will hold 355.5 times as much as a 3.5" floppy disk will :? not to mention a flash card is a lot quieter than a floppy :D

[xmastree]

how about the 3.5" floppy drive/disk? seems pretty well useless now, with all the super capacity flash cards for so cheap.
That's not fair though, you could say the same about a 387 coprocessor. And I still see quite a few floppies in use currently.

[ShockTheBox]

man i was gonna say that but i figured since as a tech guy its so sweet to use dos and boot from dos , that floppys are still workable and used..

[SXRguyinMA]

yea you guys have a point

[FuzzyPlushroom]

I think a cassette deck drive in a computer would be awesome.

And that's all I'm saying about my current mod until I get a bit further along. :D

As for floppies... hey, do I look like I can be bothered to Nlite an XP disc with SATA drivers on it? No way, I'm keeping a floppy drive around.

[xmastree]

I'm keeping a floppy drive around.
The trouble with floppy drives is that it's another place for air and dust to enter the computer. So, when you build the computer it works fine, then you don't use it for ages. By the time you do need to, it's too dirty and doesn't work any more.
Having run an internet cafe, I can confirm this. I thought about fitting velcro tape over the opening, but had a better idea. When I bought the next batch of PCs I didn't fit floppies, and with the money I saved I bought a couple of USB ones (which came with the driver on a floppy. Oh the irony!) to be used as necessary.

So, back to the topic:
http://www.martellssolutions.co.uk/ProductDetails.aspx?id=42134&i=27796

[Cymae]

what are you talking about? Without that thingymagig my eyes will burn out and the CRT will give me CANCER!!!!! :eek:

[XcOM]

we have them in the box room at work, and i admit with it eing oposite the door, when its open it makes it easier to read the screen with it rather than without

[theshoeshineman]

How about the function Lock thing on the keyboards that default to on and break the hundreds of programs that use the function keys.

Infact most of the multimedia keys on keyboards are pretty much useless. They need to make more of the keys programmable and not pre-set to reboot my computer or open up msn or a media program that I don't use.

I have had to physically "rip out" the log off key on a number of keyboards because staff were accidently hitting it.

[xRyokenx]

I have had to physically "rip out" the log off key on a number of keyboards because staff were accidently hitting it.

I've popped out the Windows keys before because I'd be playing a game and it would alt-tab the game and lock up my computer. And yeah, programmable keys really are the way to go.

[Indybird]

I've popped out the Windows keys before because I'd be playing a game and it would alt-tab the game and lock up my computer. And yeah, programmable keys really are the way to go.

Logitech G15 for the win.

-Indybird

[xmastree]

How about the function Lock thing on the keyboards that default to on and break the hundreds of programs that use the function keys.
Never seen that on, but what about Scroll Lock? WTF is that for?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scroll_lock
Ah, I see.

I would also suggest SysRq, but since it's on the Print Screen button, I'll let that go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SysRq

[Xpirate]

Never seen that on, but what about Scroll Lock? WTF is that for?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scroll_lock

If you use spreadsheet software, the scroll lock button is handy. I find some of these new keyboards offensive with the way that they moved the navigation buttons vertically and removed the insert key.

[xRyokenx]

I find some of these new keyboards offensive with the way that they moved the navigation buttons vertically and removed the insert key.

Me too, they're kinda screwy to get used to. I'm used to hitting the delete keys, etc. without even looking at the keyboard and I end up hitting the wrong key, lol.

[nevermind1534]

I find some of these new keyboards offensive with the way that they moved the navigation buttons vertically and removed the insert key.

I hate the insert key. It messes me up too much. I also don't like when the change the layout.

[SXRguyinMA]

yea I hate the insert key too...I always hit it then it screws me all up when I go back and try to type text in between text already there....it deletes the character ahead as it types the new one...VERY irritating

[nevermind1534]

It took me forever to figure out what did it, too. Before I knew that it was insert, I would have to restart the computer, and I'd just think that it was sh*ty and f*ked.

[FuzzyPlushroom]

The Insert key is ALWAYS in the wrong place, whether it's on a standard-layout 'board or something like my LX710 (next to PrtScn, so I always drop stuff on it). Scroll Lock is a Function key now (Fn -> Pause/Break), which seems fitting.

I had a Logitech multimedia 'board with a Sleep key (those are my personal nemesis, particularly since I ran WinME at the time and it never worked right). I took off the top of the keyboard, melted the sucker into place with a wood burner, melted in some more from a chunk of ABS I'd cut from an old side panel, and sanded it down. Looked like a Bondo job (but with more toxic fumes, don't do this without proper ventilation).

[XcOM]

i justed used some software and remapped the sleep key to do nothing

[FuzzyPlushroom]

i justed used some software and remapped the sleep key to do nothing

My way's the fun way. :D

[theshoeshineman]

So in other words we have to pay hundreds of dollars for a keyboard that uses basic software, rip the keys off our keyboards or have every computer user smart enough to know how to install software to remap keys... it's not looking good :|

I have a annoying habbit when typing to constantly press the shift key when thinking about what to type ... after doing it 5 times it turns on sticky keys.

[nevermind1534]

I have a annoying habbit when typing to constantly press the shift key when thinking about what to type ... after doing it 5 times it turns on sticky keys.

I turned those shortcuts off because they annoyed me so much.

[SXRguyinMA]

:stupid:

[nevermind1534]

:stupid:

Who you calling stupid? lol

[SXRguyinMA]

lol

[XcOM]

i've also disabled stick keys, basicly my windows system is modded to hell and back, crap removed (not just turned off, not there so update can't turn it back on)

Do manual updates and only install updates that have been out for a bit so im not cought in the group of people that get knackered installs because of a crap update.

custom theme i made, all the GUI windows changed, even remade the login front end and the boot logo.

What can i say, i get board easliy